ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Receives $136.71 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.71.

Several brokerages have issued reports on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $96.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $105.32 and a 200-day moving average of $108.51. The company has a market cap of $111.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $155,211,000 after acquiring an additional 32,948 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.1% during the third quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 2,991 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Research Inc. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $3,235,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,884 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,698,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.